Here’s a handful of student loan numbers for you. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, current student loan debt is nearing $1.2 trillion. An estimated 7 million borrowers are now in default; behind on $100 billion in debt.

All of which adds up to a juicy market for companies looking to cash in on people with student debt troubles.

This week, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed suit against two student-loan debt-settlement companies. The suits allege that Broadsword Student Advantageand First American Tax Defense tricked borrowers into paying upfront fees for student loan help the companies didn’t provide.

According to one of the filings, First American Tax Defense promised enrollment in a fake “Obama Forgiveness Program.”

Madigan said these companies run ads that entice people excited to call, “and what they really find out is that these are scam artists [who] want their money.”

In a 2013 report, the National Consumer Law Center found that “a new ‘student loan debt relief’ industry has sprung up in response to the demand for borrower assistance and the dearth of reliable resources.”

“There’s a lot of debt, it’s very confusing,” said NCLC attorney Persis Yu. “I think some borrowers are desperate and they are turning to places that look like they might be an easy fix.”

She says many of these debt-settlement companies mischaracterize government programs as their own.

They charge borrowers as much as $1600 for services, like debt consolidation, that are available from the government for nothing.

“What’s making this possible is a lack of awareness of repayment options,” said Mark Kantrowitz, student financial aid expert from Edvisors.com.

He says the government should run an ad campaign of its own, so students with debt know what help is available for free.

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who for some of his
tenure appeared to give County Executive Edward Mangano a pass as Nassaus budget problems mounted, appears to be a taking a tougher stance these days.

Maragos, in an interview last week, pointedly disagreed with that assessment, saying hes always been an aggressive fiscal watchdog.

Still, his last few analyses of Nassaus budget and critiques of the countys operations appear to be far more pointed than some of his earlier efforts.

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In analyzing the 2011 county budget, Maragos stood with fellow Republican Mangano in saying the spending plan was balanced. Deficits in that budget later prompted a state control board to take over Nassaus finances.

Maragos said he did the right thing at that time because the Nassau Interim Finance Authoritys takeover was spurred by a predicted budget gap for 2011, rather than an actual deficit.

They changed the rules, he said, referring to NIFAs demand that the budget be balanced under generally accepted accounting principles that barred Nassau from counting borrowed money as revenue.

Maragos — and Mangano, for that matter — were right in asserting that NIFA had accepted a different standard in balancing the budget for former County Executive Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat.

But maybe if NIFA had been tougher then, Nassau would be in less financial trouble now.

To his credit, Maragos did part with the Mangano administration on two key policy points.

He did not support a proposed deal Mangano wanted to make in 2011 with developer Charles Wang to borrow up to $400 million for a new Nassau Coliseum. Voters rejected a proposed tax increase to fund the project in a referendum that year.

Maragos also was the first to point out that the Mangano administrations policy of settling tax assessment appeals en masse would shift the tax burden to property owners who did not appeal.

There were several budget reports, however, that spurred harsh criticism of Maragos — particularly those that trumpeted surpluses that were possible largely because of county borrowing.

Last year, former Comptroller Howard Weitzman — whom Maragos defeated twice — complained to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission about what he alleged was false and misleading financial reporting by Maragos.

Weitzman, a Democrat, asked the SEC to investigate to determine whether Maragos and other top Republican leaders in county government postponed payment of $88 million in property tax settlements in 2012 so Nassau would have a surplus for the year.

Maragos said he has heard nothing from the SEC. Im sure its because it was an inaccurate accusation, he said.

Maragos has taken tough stances in recent audits and inquiries.

Two weeks ago, he said he would investigate reports that part-time Nassau workers were working more than part-time hours. He said his office would seek to determine whether part-time employees — many of whom are politically connected — actually worked the number of hours, and overtime, recorded on their time sheets.

Last week, Maragos released an audit on a politically connected contractor — who, the audit also pointed out, was not the lowest bidder for the job — who allegedly overcharged Nassau by at least $322,000. Maragos referred the case to the county district attorneys office.

He also released a report warning of the potential of a $77 million deficit in 2014, largely because sales tax revenue was coming in far below what the county expected.

Maragos, who twice tried and failed to run for state office, said he hasnt ruled out a third run for comptroller. I got that [desire for higher office] off my chest, he said. I will continue to focus on being the comptroller.

Maragos office has produced a string of tough reports with information thats useful and pertinent for taxpayers. In that, hes following in the footsteps of another Republican comptroller, Fred Parola, who sounded warnings about the cost of the countys flawed assessment system long before Nassau agreed to scrutiny from a state control board. At one point, Parola went so far as to acknowledge that Nassau, under then-County Executive Thomas Gulotta, came close to not having funds enough to handle payroll.

Going forward, Maragos needs to stay aggressive and straight in his reports. With NIFA — with its Gov. Andrew Cuomo-appointed majority — more and more acting in lockstep with Mangano, an independent comptroller is essential.